1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a device and a method for automatically setting an interlock so as to avoid interference between robots.
2. Description of the Related Art
When a robot is operated in cooperation with external equipment, it is necessary to avoid interference between the devices if the operating areas overlap. For example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 10-3308 discloses a method for avoiding interference between a robot and external equipment. In this method, in order to avoid interference between the robot and a press machine as the external equipment, an interference area is predetermined and a signal is sent to one of the robot and the press machine, such that one cannot enter the interference area when the other is located in the area.
Similarly, in relation to a plurality of robots, it is necessary to set interlock such that one or more robot cannot enter the interference area if paths of the robots interfere with each other. However, as the path of each robot is generally complicated, the moving area (or the interference area) of the robot cannot be easily determined, unlike the case of the above press machine. Therefore, conventionally, an operator visually estimates the interference area of the robot and sets interlock by editing a teaching program of the robot.
As described above, as the interference area is visually estimated, such work requires much skill. Accordingly, an operator can overlook the possibility of interference or, otherwise, can over-estimate the interference area. In the former case, collision between the robots may occur. In the latter case, the waiting time of one or more robots may be unnecessarily extended. Further, during a trial and error process for finding a most appropriate interference area, one robot may actually collide with another robot.